Caballero (Imperio)
Un Caballero es un pequeño bípedo de combate del Adeptus Mechanicus que es una versión unipersonal de un Titán y es más pequeño que el menor de los verdaderos titanes, el Warhound un titán explorador de las Legiones Titánicas. Los Caballeros normalmente se despliegan en escuadrones que engloban varias de estas máquinas. La clase de Caballero más común mide unos nueve metros, con su cabeza sirviendo de carlinga. Los Caballeros son los más pequeños y débiles de entre los bípodes del Mechanicus, pero siguen siendo aterradoras y formidables máquinas, todas equipadas con un arsenal de armas que no puede empuñar ni el más fuerte de los Marines Espaciales. Miles de años antes de la creación del Imperio, la humanidad alcanzó las estrellas y se asentó en muchos y muy lejanos mundos. Dentro del aparato de colonización había formidables máquinas de guerra, conocidas como Caballeros Imperiales, que existían para proteger a los colonos de cualquier amenaza. Con el paso de los milenios los pilotos de estas máquinas desarrollaron una rica cultura, Casas Nobles (o Casas de Caballeros) se crearon y juraron proteger sus respectivos mundos, ligados por sus votos al Trono Dorado de Terra y al Adeptus Mechanicus de Marte. Los Caballeros Imperiales son colosales máquinas de guerra que se alzan sobre el campo de batalla como colosos de metal. Son movidos por poderosos servos capaces de reducir tanques y hombres a pulpa, las vulnerables articulaciones están protegidas por enormes placas de armadura adamantina y reforzados por un escudo de iones que responde a los comandos mentales de su noble piloto. Historia Mucho antes del ascenso del Emperador y del nacimiento del Imperio, la humanidad alcanzó las estrellas, ansiosa por ocupar nuevos mundos y expandir su floreciente imperio. Vastas naves de colonización transportaban emocionados colonos, junto con los recursos que pudieran necesitar y aterrizaron en lugares lejanos, a menudo aislados mundos. Con el comiendo de la Era de los Conflictos, llamada amargamente como la Vieja Noche, el viaje interestelar entre los mundos colonizados por los humanos se volvió imposible debido a las gigantestas y violentas tormentas de disformidad causadas por el nacimiento del repugnante Dios del Caos Slaanesh durante la Caída de los Eldar. Durante los largos años de esta turbulenta era, el Mechanicum de Marte empezó a mandar naves equipadas con motores de capacidad sublumínica para explorar la vasta galaxia en la búsqueda de Plantillas de Construcción Estándar (PCE) en los perdidos mundos humanos. En el transcurso de sus exploraciones, estas lentas expediciones descubrieron grandes grupos de sistemas estelares que antaño pertenecieron a la fenhecida Confederación Humana de la Era Oscura de la Tecnología. Pero estos mundos habían involucionado durante la Era de los Conflictos a mundos Feudales pre industriales dominados por castas de guerreros y aristócratas. These nobles, called the Imperial Knights, welcomed the Tech-priests to their planets, and saw the Mechanicus as saviours who could return to them the knowledge and technologies of their ancestors. The Priests of Mars settled amongst these star systems, which they named the Knight Worlds, and preferred to place their outposts on planets that possessed a good base of strategic minerals, which could be used as the foundation for the creation of advanced industries. The Mechanicus' representatives established full diplomatic and commercial relations with the Knights and were also very interested in the ruins of advanced cities that existed on many of the Knight Worlds, where a knowledgeable scavenger could sometimes recover very useful pieces of lost technology. The Knights provided Mechanicum settlements with the manpower and military force required to drive off incursions by Orks or Eldar Exodites and the Mechanicum in return provided the Knight Worlds with their advanced technology and the skills needed to rebuild their lost civilisations. In time, the planets colonised by the Mechanicum were transformed into powerful bastions of industry and advanced technology that are known today as Forge Worlds. The Tech-priests and the Knights became mutually dependent, and with the Mechanicum cut off from Mars during the Age of Strife, each of the Forge Worlds created its own stellar empire consisting of the Forge World and its surrounding Knight Worlds.The Knights absorbed all that the Tech-priests had to teach and in time their planets became technologically sophisticated industrial societies once more, though they retained many cultural characteristics of their feudal pasts. Since the Tech-priests provided their technology only to the nobility that ruled each Knight World, these lords used their monopoly over the new knowledge to maintain the essentially feudal character of their societies even as industry returned and science advanced once more. Despite the limitations of Warp travel during this period, many of the Forge Worlds managed to retain limited contact with the other Cult Mechanicus outposts across the galaxy and with Mars itself using the sublight starships that had brought them out into the galaxy in the first place, though these journeys could take many Terran centuries. The same pattern as described above would be replicated by the Mechanicum during the Great Crusade and perhaps even afterwards. Forward supply stations and other settlements would grow to become fully fledged Forge Worlds, and the planets surrounding them would be colonised by the inhabitants of the Knight Worlds. The most important technology that the Tech-priests provided to their Knight World clients were the great robotic war machines that themselves soon became known as Knights as they were viewed as the ultimate embodiment of the mounted warrior. These war engines were much smaller than true Titans and could be piloted by only a single man, but they were well-suited to the highly-mobile, heavy cavalry-centric warfare preferred by the aristocracy of the Knight Worlds. In the past these warrior nobles had clashed with each other in honourable combat upon their horses -- now they could still face each other with honour, but did so from the cockpits of their war engines, their minds cybernetically neuro-linked to the machine's systems through Mind Impulse Unit implants in their spines and heads. When the Age of Strife finally ended in the 30th Millennium and the Emperor of Mankind's alliance with the Mechanicum in the Treaty of Mars created the Imperium of Man, the Knights were incorporated into the armed forces of the Mechanicum and were even deployed for a time to aid the Imperium in the conquests of the Great Crusade after ca. 800.M30. But the Knights were never as powerful or effective on the battlefield as their massive Titan counterparts, and over time Imperial commanders began to make use of the Knights far more infrequently. Eventually, most of the Knight Houses were ordered to remain on their homeworlds and the Forge Worlds they owed fealty to in order to serve as reserve forces for the Mechanicum. Knight squadrons were called up to serve alongside the Titan Legions only in certain situations where their greater mobility was a real asset. During the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, when the fighting spread to the Mechanicum as it broke into Loyalist and Traitor factions just like the rest of the Imperium's military forces, the Knights played a more prominent role in the battles between the Mechanicum and its Dark Mechanicus counterpart. A number of Knight Houses came to the worship of the Ruinous Powers during the Horus Heresy, and supported the Warmaster Horus and the Dark Mechanicus in their war against the False Emperor. When the Heresy ended, these Traitor Houses presumably fled into the Eye of Terror alongside the rest of the Forces of Chaos, and remain active to this day, now twisted and changed by the mutating power of the Warp. In modern times, the Houses that remained loyal to the Imperium still serve and are occasionally called to fight alongside the Titan Legion of their parent Forge World, but in these times they act only as second-line forces. Las Casas de Caballeros The descendants of the early pioneers who settled their respective worlds were found in the knightly houses of the Imperial Knights. These dynasties of nobility evolved from the need to protect the early human settlers from indigenous species discovered on alien worlds. When the original settlers arrived on distant worlds they cannibalised their spacecraft, using the parts for the raw materials of survival. The Imperial Knights now dwell in massive strongholds, forboding martial structures, the heart of which contains technologies taken from these ancient colonisation vessels. The formal role of protector and castellan developed over time into the structure of noble houses that was old when the Imperium was in its infancy. The curious fact that the knightly houses are often uncannily alike despite their far-flung nature is explained, at least in part, by the union of Noble pilot and his suit of knight armour, known as the Ritual of Becoming. Connecting at a neural level with the war spirit of a suit of knight armour has a profound effect on the consciousness of the pilot. The joining of mind and war spirit has helped to create cultures which appear uncannily similar, despite evolving on worlds that are far apart, and have never shared formal communication. The Imperial Knights are characterised by their independence. They are bound to the Imperium, and to the Adeptus Mechanicus by oaths of fealty, but they are not subjects in any true sense of the word. Their culture and society predates the Imperium by thousands of years, way back before the Dark Age of Technology, and it is informed far more by the bonds between a Noble pilot and his knight suit than any outside influence. Theirs is a culture of relentless, formalised ritual. It is a society that exists around a stultifying observance to apparently pointless ceremony and endless courtly mundanity. Against this tableau of formalised ritual are the Noble pilots. They are a breed of warriors who find their only joy in battle, and they yearn constantly to escape the oppressive dullness of courtly life and ride their knight suits to war. The thrill of battle and the risk of death is an infinitely preferable experience for them to the monotony of life within their fortresses. These are warriors born to their calling and raised for nothing other than war. They spend every moment they can preparing, training and planning for battle –- the alternative is simply too dull for them to even contemplate. Votos de Lealtad When Mankind rediscovered the feudal domains of the knightly houses, they quickly found common cause, exchanging oaths of loyalty. Many knightly houses see the Imperium as their equal partner, and support it militarily out of mutual advantage. Although these houses trade openly with the Imperium, and march to war alongside their armies, they retain a fierce independence. Other houses found common cause specifically with the Mechanicum, who in turn courted the knightly houses with unseemly eagerness. These Adeptus Mechanicus-aligned houses, as they are now known, have forged alliances of reciprocal protection and betterment. Those who look at the fealty of the knightly houses towards the Adeptus Mechanicus often wonder at whether the relationship is not in fact based on jealousy, for the priests of Mars covet the pre-Imperial technology that lies within the mighty citadels of each knightly house. For their part, the Mechanicus-aligned houses seem not to care, since they receive the full resources of the Forge Worlds from their allies. While the overwhelming majority of Imperial Knights belong to houses (such as Houses Terryn, Hawkshroud and Cadmus) who are aligned to the Imperium some houses (such as Taranis and Raven) are sworn to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Each house has its own proud traditions that span thousands of years, and will have fought in countless battles on behalf of humanity. Some Knights, for one reason or another, forsake the succour of a noble house, and forge their own destiny as a Freeblade. These are tragic heroes, who continue to fight for Mankind, but call no man master. Whether they have been dishonoured, shunned by their peers or perhaps can simply no longer abide the drudgery of courtly life. These either set out on their own, wandering the stars in search of worthy cause, or else they settle in further isolation, offering their protection to those who need it. Organización All Knight Worlds in the Imperium of Man owe fealty to the Magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and in particular to their "capital" Forge World, bound by oaths sworn thousands of standard years ago. In times of war, every Knight World sends thousands of men and machines, in addition to the Knight Titans, to fight for the Mechanicus wherever they are requested. In addition to serving the Forge Worlds, the Knights will support campaigns of the Imperial Guard at the behest of their Mechanicus masters. The Knight Worlds supply the great Forge Worlds with food and raw materials, and are most often the main source of these resources. Most of the Knight Worlds have several large landmasses covered with plains or vast forests. Through these wildernesses wander grazing herds of Megasaurs, great dinosaur-like beasts that either evolved naturally or were transplanted to the planet during the Dark Age of Technology. Carnosaur predators pursue and hunt the herds, and the Knights in their armoured suits are required to fend them off. The Knights keep a constant vigil in order to keep not only the natural predators, but also pirates and raiders from the Eldar Exodite clans at bay. The Servitor-run strip mines often become assaulted by those who covet the gold, silver and uranium extracted from there. For an entire year the Knights defend their domains until great ships arrive from their capital Forge World, bringing new Knight Suits, weapons, tools and mining machinery. They leave with their holds packed with ores and Megasaur meat. At times Warp Storms are severe enough to delay Mechanicus fleets from reaching their destination for months, leaving the Knight Worlds teetering on the brink of anarchy. The basic tactical and sociopolitical unit employed by the Knight Worlds is a House. A Knight House is an aristocratic noble family that owes fealty to the Adeptus Mechanicus, providing soldiers, the resources of their worlds and their own martial skills in exchange for the technological expertise that the Tech-priests of Mars offer. A Knight House is usually headed by a senior member of this family, aided by other elders of the House. Some Knight Worlds have many different families inhabiting them, whilst others are dominated by a single one. On planets with more than one House, the rivalry for the favour of the capital Forge World is high and sometimes breaks into hostility. Despite their personal differences, however, when the Forge World gives the call to arms, all Knights fight side by side against the enemies of the Mechanicus and the Imperium. In times of war, a House's formation -- Knights and the men-at-arms who provide tactical support -- that goes on Crusade with Imperial forces is known as a Household. Knights are further separated into detachments according to their type for greater tactical flexibility. A Household is under overall command of a Seneschal -- usually, but not necessarily, a Knight Baron. A Household is further divided into detachments, which by principle can only contain Knights of a single type. Knights are not commonly now seen on the battlefields of the late 41st Millenium. Most often they only enter combat in defence of Mechanicus domains or of their own worlds. They sometimes provide tactical support to a Titan Legion in a Crusade, or to units of the Imperial Guard if their help is ordered by the Lords of their House's allied Forge World. On the other hand, when a force of Imperial Guardsmen acts in support of a Knight Household, the Knight Seneschal technically can take command of the Guardsmen, acting as their company commander for the duration of combat operations. Modelos The war machines utilised by the Imperial Knights were orginally built with the intention of helping with the work of colonisation. That inherent practicality was communicated in many of the aspects of their current design. For example, the Reaper Chainsword, considered such a fearsome weapon on the battlefield, was clearly once intended for clearing huge areas of vegetation for the early settlers. Each of the weapons has heavy duty lifting hooks attached to it, and one can imagine the original practical colonists hooking up digging or lifting apparatus just as easily as they could draw out a powerful Battle Cannon out of stores to fend off marauding Orks or Eldar. Many of the practical elements of the original endoskeleton of the Knights' war machines are now hidden under the sloped armour plates and heraldry of the Imperial Knight. If one were able to penetrate beneath the heavy layers of thick protective armour plates, the war machine would resemble the functional construction machines of the past when the colonists first used them to defend their early settlements. The most common types of Knights are the Knight Paladin and the Knight Errant, both based on the same chassis but equipped with different weapon arrays. This particular chassis is often used due to its flexibility. The armoured leg plates protect the machine from infantry units, but still give it enough speed and agility to use its deadly Shock Lance. These types of Knights are equipped with special close combat weapons and are regarded as expertly skilled in their use. This capability is supplemented with ranged weapons powerful enough to blast even heavy vehicles from afar and to mow down infantry formations. There are several different types or patterns of Knights used on the Knight Worlds. These include: * 'Caballero Paladín -' El Caballero arquetípico, armado con un Cañón de Batalla de gran calibre y una enorme Espada Sierra. * 'Caballero Errant -' Modelo muy preparado para atacar objetivos más grandes, como los Mega Gargantes. Va armado con temibles Cañones Térmicos capaces de vaporizar fácilmente carne o acero. * 'Caballero Lancero -' Una versión más rápida del Caballero estándar, dedicada a flanquear al enemigo y explorar sus posiciones defensivas. Va armada con un Cañón de Batalla y una Lanza de Energía. * 'Caballero Cruzado -' Uno de los tipos más pesados de Caballero, junto con el Caballero Castellano. Aunque es más lento y menos ágil, posee una potencia de fuego mayor, contando con Cañones Láser, Cañones Estremecedores o Bólteres Pesados además de mayor blindaje. * 'Caballero Castellano -' Similar al Cruzado, reemplaza el Cañón Láser por un Cañón Automático de varios cañones, obteniendo así una potencia de fuego mejor para acabar con infantería y vehículos ligeros enemigos. * 'Barón -' Es el líder de un contingente de Caballeros. Por tanto, cuenta con afiladísimas habilidades y un modelo personalizado de Caballero. La mayoría de "monturas" de Barones van armados con Lanzas de Energía y Cañones de Batalla de gran cadencia de disparo. * Knight Warden - When a member of a Knight House reaches old age, he is allowed to retire, passing his armour down to his eldest descendant and instead donning the suit of a Knight Warden. Wardens are charged with defending the family household and serving the members of their House with sage advice. Although no longer as quick as their younger kin, their experience and expertise more than make up for this falling. Wardens are armed with long-ranged, heavy weapons and are well-armoured, but are not equipped with Shock Lances. A Squire cannot become a Warden, and must at least be a full Knight. Those who proceed to attain the rank of a Lord or are already Lords when they retire are instead reffered to as "Seneschals". A Warden's battle armour is always painted almost entirely white, with only a single plate painted in a fashion adequate to the individual's rank. Heráldica Every Imperial Knight is a precious and valued war machine, revered by its Noble pilot and painstakingly maintained by the house sacristans responsible for its upkeep. Each is painted in the glorious heraldry of its house, and decorated with imagery and iconography that tell of its home-world, oaths and battle honours. The Knight Houses use an elaborate system of heraldry signifying their allegiance and the House to which they belong. Knights will use some variation of their House's heraldry as their livery, incorporating its themes and motifs, but no two liveries can be identical. All Knights bear striking, colourful liveries and often adorn their machines with heraldic pennants. It is customary for the Knights to compete not only in combat feats, but also in the appearance of their mounts. A number of Knight Houses uses a specific style of heraldry. These Houses base their heraldic colours on their Family Banners rather than their shields, using two colours -- the background colour serving as a "base" colour -- to denote an individual's rank in the House. A Squire's Titan uses the basic livery colour (usually the colour that is dominant on the household's banner). Full Knights use the basic colour halved with the secondary colour, and Lords use the two colours in a quartered pattern. The actual areas painted in different colours varies from house to house and between the different designs of Knight, but the basic pattern is always retained. Wardens are usually coloured all white, with a single panel in their household colours in a pattern appropriate to their rank. Emblems on the war machines and their banners are adapted from the main household banners. These banners usually show a heroic ancestor in battle with a mythological monster as their central image. Campaign banners and emblems are often added while the Knights are on crusade with Imperial forces. Órdenes de Caballeros conocidas * Casa Arakon. * Casa Arundel. * Casa Beaumaris. * Casa Cadmus (Imperio). * Casa Degallio (Imperio). * Casa Devine (Traidora). * Casa Dunstan. * Casa Griffith (Imperio). * Casa Hawkshroud (Imperio). * Casa Hawkwood. * Casa Hyperion. * Casa Khord. * Casa Krast (Adeptus Mechanicus). * Casa Lakar. * Casa Mortan (Imperio). * Casa Mortimer. * Casa Raven (Adeptus Mechanicus). * Casa Terryn (Imperio). * Casa Trainor. * Casa Vulker (Adeptus Mechanicus). * Casa Vymar. * Casa Warwick. * Caballeros de Taranis o Casa Taranis (Adeptus Mechanicus). Galería Boceto_Caballero_Paladín.png|Boceto de un Caballero Paladín. Caballero_Paladín_Casa_Terryn.jpg|Caballero Paladín de la Casa Terryn enfrentándose a la Casta del Fuego Tau. Emblema_Casa_Raven_Caballeros_Imperiales.jpg|Blasón de la Casa Raven, aliada con el Adeptus Mechanicus. Blasón_de_la_Casa_Griffith.jpg|Blasón de la Casa Griffith. Blasón_de_la_Casa_Krast.png|Blasón de la Casa Krast. El guantelete aferrando una serpiente simboliza la destrucción de las fuerzas del Caos. Caballero_Errant_Espadalibre_Retribución_Encarnada.jpg|Caballero Errant Espadalibre Retribución Encarnada. Caballero_Imperial_destruye_XV104_Cataclismo_Tau.jpg|Un Caballero Imperial destruye a una XV104 Cataclismo del Imperio Tau. Caballero_Paladín_Victarion.jpg|Caballero Paladín Victarion. Estandarte_Casa_Terryn.jpg|Estandarte de la Casa Terryn. Heráldica_detallada_de_la_Casa_Terryn.png|Esquema heráldico completo de un Caballero Paladín de la Casa Terryn. Marca_de_Muerte_Casa_Krast.jpg|Marca de muerte específica de la Casa Krast. Es el mayor honor de batalla que puede recibir uno de sus miembros. Knight_Caballero_Paladín.jpg|Caballero Paladín. Caballero_Barón_Adeptus_Mechanicus.jpg|Caballero Barón al servicio del Adeptus Mechanicus. Heráldica_Casas_de_Caballeros.jpg|thumb|Heráldica de varias Casas de Caballeros. Caballero_Lancero_Ilustración.jpg|Caballero Lancero. Caballero_Errant_Rojo.jpg|Caballero Errant de la Casa Raven. Caballero_Errant_Verde.jpg|Caballero Errant del Espadalibre Garantius, el Caballero Olvidado. Caballero_Paladín_frontal.jpg|Vista frontal de un Caballero Paladín de la Casa Terryn, comparado en tamaño con un Marine Espacial de los Ultramarines. Caballero Paladín trasera.jpg|Vista trasera del Caballero Paladín. Caballeros_Paladín_Casa_Terryn_Ultramarines.jpg|Una Punta de Lanza de la Casa Terryn apoya a la 1ª Compañía de los Ultramarines. Caballero_Errant_Casa_Raven_vs_Orkos.jpg|Caballero Errant de la Casa Raven enfrentándose a un ejército de Orkos. Hermandad_de_Hierro_Casa_Raven_Caballeros_Paladín_y_Errant.jpg|Hermandad de Hierro de la Casa Raven, formada por cuatro Caballeros Errant y un Paladín. Punta_de_Lanza_Casa_Terryn_Caballeros_Errant_Paladín.jpg|Punta de Lanza de la Casa Terryn, formada por dos Caballeros Errant y un Paladín. Knight_Caballeros_Paladín_Epic.jpg|Escuadrón de Caballeros Paladín (Epic). Knight_Modelos_Caballeros_Paladín_Epic.jpg|Modelos de Caballero Paladín para Epic: Warhammer 40,000. Caballero_Barón.jpg|Miniatura de Caballero Barón (Epic). Caballero_Guardián.jpg|Caballero Guardián de la Casa Arundel (Epic). Caballero_Lancero.jpg|Un comandante en Caballero Lancero (Epic). Caballeros_Castellanos.jpg|Caballeros Castellanos (Epic). Caballeros_Cruzados.jpg|Caballeros Cruzados (Epic). Destacamento_de_Caballeros_Errant_Epic.jpg|Caballeros Errant (Epic). Destacamento_de_Caballeros_Paladín_Epic.jpg|Caballeros Paladín de la Casa Krast (Epic). Ejército_de_Caballeros_Imperiales_vs_Orkos.jpg|Un ejército de Caballeros Imperiales se enfrenta a otro de Orkos (Epic). Caballero_Lancero_Casa_Dunstan_Adeptus_Titanicus.jpg|Caballero Lancero de la Casa Dunstan (Adeptus Titanicus). Caballero_Lancero_Casa_Warwick.jpg|Caballero Lancero de la Casa Warwick (Adeptus Titanicus). Leer más Titanes Imperiales. Caballero (Eldar). Fuentes Extraído y traducido de Wikihammer 40K UK. * White Dwarf 126, 178, 180, 182 y 190 (Edición inglesa). * Codex Titanicus (1ª Edición). * Mechanicum, por Graham McNeill. * Legiones Titánicas (2ª Edición). * White Dwarf Issue nº 4 (Edición Inglesa). * Games Workshop - Caballero Imperial (link activo: 23/2/2014). * Games Workshop - Punta de Lanza de Caballeros Imperiales (link activo: 23/2/2014). * Games Workshop - Hermandad de Hierro (link activo: 23/2/2014). Categoría:Titanes Imperiales Categoría:Artículos para traducir